Alderson Family Crest

The English surname Alderson, chiefly found in northern England, is of patronymic origin meaning son of, or descendant of Alder. The personal name Alder is derived from a Middle English name, representing a falling together of two Old English names, Ealdhere meaning “ancient army” and Æ{dh}elhere meaning “noble army.” The first record of the name is in 1540 when Richard Aldersson was a christening witness, at Dewsbury, Yorkshire on March 10th. A famous bearer of the name was Sir James Alderson (1794 - 1882), who was president of the College of Physicians, 1867, and was knighted 1869; he was physician-extraordinary to the Queen, 1874.